Re: Yet more on pterosaur quad arm posture

[Jason Brougham <jaseb@amnh.org>]

OK, my incredule, here is a flightless Weka (Gallirallus australis) in a
shrub:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trs/3476131920/

And, as I say, chicks and pinioned birds that can't fly do it too.

Jason Brougham
Senior Principal Preparator
American Museum of Natural History
jaseb@amnh.org
(212) 496 3544





On 7/11/13 5:59 PM, "David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at> wrote:

>> > > they climb up there
>> >
>> > I bet this refers to WAIR. A seriema walking up a tree trunk like a
>>nuthatch is really hard to imagine.
>>
>> But as I was saying, this referred to the mammalogist's definition. So
>>climbing (with claws or with prehensile feet or what have you) is the
>>way to get up in the trees.
>>
>> So again: to mammalogists, arboreal vs. scansorial is more about WHERE
>>the animal lives & feeds vs. rests, whereas to ornithologists it is
>>about how they get there.
>
>...Not what I'm saying. I'm not talking about whether seriemas should be
>classified as arboreal, scansorial or anything; I'm expressing
>incredulity at the explicit claim that they climb up low trees instead of
>flying there.